When the School for Animals curriculum committee met to decide on a theme for the competition, the rabbit wanted to run, the eagle wanted to fly, the frog wanted to jump, the squirrel wanted to climb, and the fish wanted to swim. They decided to take a month and learn each other’s experience before deciding on the topic of the competition.
Each tried to learn and overcome the natural potential of the others. The fish failed to run and the eagle failed to climb, the frog failed to fly, the rabbit failed to swim. They got frustrated trying to learn something they had no potential for. They realized that they were not able to compete with each other’s innate talents.
They recognized that the important thing in setting and achieving goals is determining your potential. Sometimes the potential may not be clear. Therefore, the next best thing is to determine our special ability. What am I good at? What do I like to do? What do I keep doing every time I have a few minutes of free time? Whenever we have an opportunity or a bit of free time, we automatically try to do something related to a hobby. Find out what that hobby is. If we are interested, we can start doing it at any time, like Grandma Moses started painting at age 88 when arthritis prevented her from working with needles.
Sometimes such opportunities come by chance. Tolstoy had an accidental fall from a horse. That got him thinking and he realized that he always wanted to write and the fall would have killed him and he would never have achieved his greatest goal. He immediately began his novel “War and Peace” which took almost four years to finish. (1865 -68)
Sometimes we may not be aware of our inclination and potential. To find out more about it, we can take a pen and paper and write for five minutes without stopping at each of the three topics we like to follow and number them as a, b, c. Then write down a, b, c, in order to represent the topic you think you are most qualified for.
For the next three minutes start writing about a topic on your list. Write everything you know about it using the formula “what, why, how, when, where”. At the end of the article on each topic, write a sentence or two to show how you learned about this topic. (that is, at school or at home because your father was a carpenter and gave you the opportunity to learn the trade, or in your environment, that is, because all your neighbors got involved in it, or for some reason you felt attracted to it) .
Find out from what you have written which topic you know best. (what you have a natural inclination for and what you are most likely to succeed at).
Now find out where you can learn more about each topic (library, school, correspondence course, allied associations or what else? Who are the people who do that kind of work and how long will it take to reach your goal? What is the financial outlay? , physical effort and mental effort?
Then determine the demand for the knowledge you have acquired. Put some notices on the bulletin boards of organizations like the church, YMCA, community centers, etc. about what you have to offer. Now decide which topic you are interested in is most in demand. Never try to learn a subject for which there is no demand.
Now set your priority. Is it money, fame, social service, teaching, Christian missionary work in China, accountant, engineer, carpenter, architect, painter, writer, or gourmet cook?
Some people have different goals at different stages of life like the woman who married four times and each time to a man of a different profession. A reporter asked him if this was accidental, premeditated or coincidental. She replied that it was definitely premeditated. She first she married a banker for money, second she married an actor for fame, third she married a minister to prepare and fourth time she married an undertaker to be dispatched.
So you must set goals. There are four types.
1. Easy to achieve goals
2. Confidence-building goals,
3 short-term goals for quick results,
4 long-term goals that are the accumulation of many short-term goals.
Every time you reach a goal, reset the goals with more challenging or difficult goals.
The story of “The Inn of the Sixth Happiness” a true story about Gladys Aylward and her obsession with becoming a missionary in China is a very good example. This story was excellently interpreted by Ingrid Bergman. It’s a good example of one long-term goal divided into many short-term goals.
Aylward wanted to go to China as a missionary. But she didn’t have the qualification. So the religious organization refused to send it. She then began to study, first about China and then about missionary work. Later, she earned money as a servant. She bought a ticket. and she went to China to do missionary work without any connection or help from missionary organizations.
When the Japanese invaded China, he carried 100 children over the mountains to safety.
To reach a goal, five attributes are needed.
1 Desire: Unless you have a burning desire to do it, you won’t achieve it
2 Determination: You must be determined to continue despite the obstacles
3 Persistence: If you fail the first time, don’t give up. Like the man who wanted to buy a 1961 Cadillac in 1961. He Persisted and got a 1961 Cadillac in 1970.
4 faith
5 Hard work.
Write down and keep your goal in your pocket. Paste a copy on your mirror. Put a large plaque on your table to remind yourself of your ultimate goal every day. Make a model of it. Employ all five of your physical body’s senses to impress your brain on the ultimate goal. Make a treasure map.
Allow your mind to form images. Visualize your goal and it will materialize. Our minds are an infinitesimal part of God the Creator. How do we know that in MIND we have all the powers of God? We are poor not because we do not have wealth, but because we are not aware that we have all the wealth we need.